Monday, 28 January 2008

We took a little stroll around Ladybower Reservoir yesterday. I've lived near here for years, but it was the first time I'd ever seen the famous "plug holes" in action.

The "plug holes" are the entrances to two very large drainage shafts that act as overflows from the reservoir. When the reservoir is full, the excess water pours down the "plug holes", cascades down the shafts which travel under the dam and into an area called the tailbay where it enters into the River Derwent.

Imagine watching the water from a bathtub that holds 6,300,000,000 gallons of water swirling down through a plug hole about 25 metres wide. It's spectacular. The water makes an amazing noise a it plunges down the shaft; it's like standing next to a waterfall, which of course is not surprising - it is a kind of waterfall.

The "plug holes", or more correctly the spillways, are beautifully constructed in a funnel shape. They obviously look their best when the reservoir is full, at low water levels they look pretty unspectacular: just like two big cylindrical chimneys, unless they are viewed from above, so that the stepped funnel structure can be seen.

If you'd like to see one of the spillways in action, this video gives an idea of how it looks and sounds:

The "plugholes" can clearly be seen at the southern end of the reservoir on this aerial shot from Google, although the water level was much lower on the day that these images were taken.

The size of the "plug holes"/spillways seems to be a closely guarded secret (at least that's my excuse for failing to discover the answer), my estimate of 25 metres is based on measurements taken from aerial shots like this one and one from MultiMap.

The green triangular area is the turfed surface of the embankment for the dam. The tailbay and the River Derwent can also be seenat the bottom of the picture.

Thursday, 24 January 2008

Danish architect Tim Norlund, has produced the winning design for a highly unusual footbridge, which was described as "inspired and inspiring" by the judges. However at around £2 million, it is going to be pretty pricey and I'm sure this price tag will cause more than a little controversy.

The new bridge is going to be located on the Sheffield Parkway, currently a rather dull and featureless dual carriageway that links Sheffield to the M1 and consequently provides most visitors with their first glimpse of my home city.

Monday, 21 January 2008

It's Saturday, it's 5 o'clock, it's Praise or Grumble. The programme is a Sheffield institution, but it's also a candidate for an award for the most inappropriately named programme to grace the airwaves. Praise is generally in extremely short supply.

The format is simple: annoyed, grumpy and disgruntled fans, some sober, some under the influence of their half-time refreshments, ring in to BBC Radio Sheffield in order to get the opportunity to air their views about their team of choice. In theory they offer either a few words of praise or they can opt to grumble. But remember, this is Yorkshire; the inhabitants of God's Own County are not renowned for their cheery dispositions, particularly where the beautiful game is concerned.

Of course last weekend was particularly important in my home city, being the date of an all-important Sheffield derby match.

Friends, Wednesdayites, Yorkshiremen, lend me your ears;I come to grumble about United, not to praise them.The fouls that players commit could count against them;The goals would be scored with their boots;So let it be with United. The noble WarnockHath told you United were ambitious:If it were so, it was a grievous fault,And grievously hath United played it.

Even the Wednesday fans are more moderate than might be expected in their praise for their team's recent success against their old rivals. In fact, during the years that I've lived in Sheffield, I have noticed that this has always been the case: success is ephemeral after all, so there's no point getting worked up about it, just smile knowingly and mutter "It won't last..."

"The way I look at it, that's just a few points we won't have to struggle for to avoid the relegation zone at the end of the season"

Of course there is a joyous aspect to this. Praise or Grumble is so popular partly because football fans like it, but mainly because it is often hilariously funny. We may not have Rick Wakeman or Arthur Smith, but entertaining grumpiness is definitely on the menu.

Praise or Grumble is Sheffield's original version of the soon-to-be-classic Grumpy Old Men. Enjoy.

Thursday, 17 January 2008

For some years Mr TLC and I have trundled off to our Other Local Pub in order to listen to cheesy music, answer bizarre music trivia questions and banter with Stuart the DJ/Quizmaster. The Thursday night music quiz at The Ball was of no great importance, but we liked it and it made us strangely happy. Sadly Quizmaster Stuart has been brutally axed and replaced with a cheap but not very cheerful PowerPoint quiz.

Cue music videos with no sound. Cue the manager reading the questions on his new radio microphone for the benefit of those who can't read a screen themselves. Cue entertaining banter noisy buzzing feedback from new radio microphone.

Sunday, 6 January 2008

Following my visit to Beauchief Abbey yesterday, I decided to find out more about the site and its history.

(NB There seems to be some disagreement about dates, especially during the early history of the abbey.)

From 1172 or 1183 onwardsBeauchief Abbey is founded by Robert FitzRanulf de Alfreton.

The abbey was part of the Premonstratensian order and like other Premonstratensian orders was small, although the abbey at Beauchief was one of the smallest in the country with an abbot and approximately 12 canons. It was not an enclosed order, the canons are likely to have been ordained and to have acted as priests for local churches. The abbey may have been dedicated to St Thomas a Beckett, his image appears on one of the abbey's seals.

The layout of the abbey is subject to some conjecture, but it is believed to have contained a range of monastic buildings including a church, cloister garth and chapter house. The photograph below is taken from the information board on the site and shows the likely layout of the original abbey.

The abbey also controlled a large area of land, including several mills, farms and some industries including iron smelting. The land controlled by the abbey expanded over the years and included property as far afield as Hathersage and Chesterfield.1537Dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII forces the abbot, John Sheffield, to surrender Beauchief Abbey and its property to the crown. A large area of the estate was purchased by Sir Nicholas Strelley.1648Edward Pegge married Gertrude Strelley, heiress to the Strelley family's property, starting Beauchief Abbey's association with the Pegge family.1671Edward Pegge built Beauchief Hall. Some of the stone used in the building was taken from the ruined sections of the abbey. 1727Samuel and Nathaniel Buck create an engraving of the abbey, this is the earliest image that still survives. At this point the tower is still at its original full height, with a belfry and pinnacles. The wall contains arches which are believed to be those either side of the present day building. This picture of the engraving was photographed from the information board on the site.

Between 1820 and 1827Two stone arches are moved from their original positions to the current positions on either side of the tower.

1923Mr Frank Crawshaw purchases the abbey and much of the surrounding land from descendants of the Strelley and Pegge families. Some of the land was later sold for housing development.1923-1926Excavations are carried out at the site, with the support of the owner, Frank Crawshaw. Most of the work is done by boys from the King Edward VII School under the supervision of Mr W.H. Elgar, a master at the school.

Saturday, 5 January 2008

Looking back the clues were there all along, I just didn't notice them. There is a brown and white road sign on Abbey Lane to direct the way. The sign points down Beauchief* Abbey Lane. There's even a section on the council's website for goodness sake. Clearly my powers of observation are somewhat lacking.I've known for years that there used to be an abbey in Sheffield, I even knew it was in the Abbeydale area (which is hardly surprising really). What I didn't know, until very recently, was that it is still there, or at least parts of it are. I was under the impression that only a few bits of mossy stone remained to show where an abbey had been. I was wrong (but there's nothing unusual about that).I can't remember who it was that told me that the abbey was ruined, but they were only partially correct. The tower and most of the nave from the original abbey are still standing and the current building is still in use as a chapel. On either side of the tower are two stone arches, believed to have been relocated from their original positions in an adjoining wall in the original structure. Unfortunately we weren't able to explore inside the chapel, as it was closed, but it does open for weekly services.

The other parts of the abbey really are just ruins, but the original building has left a carefully preserved footprint. There are low walls still visible showing where the cloisters and stores once were; a curved section and the bases of two pillars mark the likely site of the chapter house.

The churchyard has an air of quiet shabbiness with its tumbledown graves, old tombs and soft mossy grass. However the mystical charm of the place was spoiled a little by the sight of golfers from the neighbouring course trundling past from time to time!

It's only a small site, so on a clear wintry day like today, with very few other people around, it was possible to stand back and imagine stepping back in time to see how the area used to look. I don't know why, but I love ecclesiastical architecture, so the chance to spend some time quietly contemplating this little bit of Sheffield's history was a real treat for me.

Why the silly name? Because my students have been known to Google my real name and I don't want to make it easy for them to find me! Any opinions expressed in this blog are my own. If you disagree, feel free to comment!